SWIM

swimming, swim

(noun) the act of swimming; “it was the swimming they enjoyed most”; “they took a short swim in the pool”

float, swim

(verb) be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom

swim

(verb) move as if gliding through water; “this snake swims through the soil where it lives”

swim

(verb) travel through water; “We had to swim for 20 minutes to reach the shore”; “a big fish was swimming in the tank”

swim, drown

(verb) be covered with or submerged in a liquid; “the meat was swimming in a fatty gravy”

swim

(verb) be dizzy or giddy; “my brain is swimming after the bottle of champagne”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Pronoun

SWIM third-person singular

(internet) Someone who isn't me; someone who isn't myself

Usage notes

• Mostly used to talk about something without assigning oneself blame.

Etymology 1

Verb

swim (third-person singular simple present swims, present participle swimming, simple past (archaic) swum or swam, past participle swum)

(intransitive) To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means.

(intransitive) To become immersed in, or as if in, or flooded with, or as if with, a liquid

(intransitive) To move around freely because of excess space.

(transitive) To traverse (a specific body of water, or a specific distance) by swimming; or, to utilize a specific swimming stroke; or, to compete in a specific swimming event.

(transitive, uncommon) To cause to swim.

(intransitive, archaic) To float.

(intransitive) To be overflowed or drenched.

(transitive) To immerse in water to make the lighter parts float.

(transitive, historical) To test (a suspected witch) by throwing into a river; those who floated rather than sinking were deemed to be witches.

(intransitive) To glide along with a waving motion.

Usage notes

• In Late Middle English and Early Modern English, the present participle form swimmand still sometimes occurred in Midlands and Northern dialects, for exampleː

The water to nourish the fish swimmand. (The Towneley plays)

Their young child Troiane, as swift as dolphin fish, swimmand away. (1513, Gavin Douglas, Virgil's Aeneid)

Noun

swim (plural swims)

An act or instance of swimming.

The sound, or air bladder, of a fish.

(UK) A part of a stream much frequented by fish.

A dance move of the 1960s in which the arms are moved in a freestyle swimming manner.

Etymology 2

Noun

swim (plural swims)

A dizziness; swoon.

Verb

swim (third-person singular simple present swims, present participle swimming, simple past (archaic) swum or swam, past participle swum)

(intransitive) To be dizzy or vertiginous; have a giddy sensation; to have, or appear to have, a whirling motion.

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of someone who isn't me.

Noun

swim (plural not attested)

(internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of someone who isn't me. used as a way to avoid self-designation or self-incrimination, especially in online drug forums

Proper noun

Swim (plural Swims)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Swim is the 16707th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1713 individuals. Swim is most common among White (91.71%) individuals.

Source: Wiktionary


Swim, v. i. [imp. Swam or Swum (; p. p. Swum; p. pr. & vb. n. Swimming.] Etym: [AS. swimman; akin to D. zwemmen, OHG. swimman, G. schwimmen, Icel. svimma, Dan. swömme, Sw. simma. Cf. Sound an air bladder, a strait.]

1. To be supported by water or other fluid; not to sink; to float; as, any substance will swim, whose specific gravity is less than that of the fluid in which it is immersed.

2. To move progressively in water by means of strokes with the hands and feet, or the fins or the tail. Leap in with me into this angry flood, And swim to yonder point. Shak.

3. To be overflowed or drenched. Ps. vi. 6. Sudden the ditches swell, the meadows swim. Thomson.

4. Fig.: To be as if borne or floating in a fluid. [They] now swim in joy. Milton.

5. To be filled with swimming animals. [Obs.] [Streams] that swim full of small fishes. Chaucer.

Swim, v. t.

1. To pass or move over or on by swimming; as, to swim a stream. Sometimes he thought to swim the stormy main. Dryden.

2. To cause or compel to swim; to make to float; as, to swim a horse across a river.

3. To immerse in water that the lighter parts may float; as, to swim wheat in order to select seed.

Swim, n.

1. The act of swimming; a gliding motion, like that of one swimming. B. Jonson.

2. The sound, or air bladder, of a fish.

3. A part of a stream much frequented by fish. [Eng.] Swim bladder, an air bladder of a fish.

– To be in the swim, to be in a favored position; to be associated with others in active affairs. [Colloq.]

Swim, v. i. Etym: [OE. swime dizziness, vertigo, AS. swima; akin to D. zwijm, Icel. svimi dizziness, svina to subside, svia to abate, G. schwindel dizziness, schwinden to disappear, to dwindle, OHG. swinan to dwindle. Cf. Squemish, Swindler.]

Definition: To be dizzy; to have an unsteady or reeling sensation; as, the head swims.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

25 April 2024

TYPIFY

(verb) embody the essential characteristics of or be a typical example of; “The fugue typifies Bach’s style of composition”


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